Small Spaces

I knew that Parisian apartment living would be quite cramped so I prepared as much as I could ahead of time to deal with living in relatively small quarters. I also had to be a bit creative with the space that we did have. Here is a look at how I managed to fit almost (I did leave a few things back home) all of my Canadian wardrobe into our tiny apartment. 

After dragging my bulging suitcases up two flights of winding staircase steps and entering into our new humble abode, I was immediately concerned with how little closet space there was. There was one closet, about a foot and a half long...and that's it. Okay, fine. There were also four hooks by the entrance but this did not calm my nerves one bit. So, after a couple of weeks living out of a suitcase, we purchased a portable boudoir closet which sits in a nook that used to be home to a desk and computer. As you can see I have made use of all the space in this closet including storing my jeans on the very bottom and purses at the top. I even allowed DJB one row on the shelf and 6 hangers. How nice of me! I also have to double up clothes on the hangers in order for everything to fit, which is good but not really because I have had that bar come crashing down several time due to the extreme weight! The foot and a half closet is where I hang my coats/jackets, some sweaters and scarves.

Next was the shoe dilemma. As I have mentioned before, I brought one carry on suitcase full of just shoes. I also managed to cram a few more pairs in other suitcases and of course I have purchased a few pairs here. Lining them all up against one of our walls was starting to get to me so I purchased this hanging shoe organizer. With a bit of tweaking and sawing, DJB was able to hang it nicely over our front door. It's a bit of a tight squeeze to get in and out of our place, but so worth it! 

A couple of other life savers that I purchased right before moving abroad were these jewelry and make-up hanging organizers. They fit perfectly on our bathroom door and are so easy to access while I'm getting ready at my vanity (aka - my eye shadow compact placed on top of a coffee container, in the kitchen). Hey, you have to work with what you have!